Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
leaves little room for interpretation of the author's moral
point of view. Yet, there remains one big moral question that is not as
easily answered. This is the question of the character of Augustine
St. Clare--a man who espouses great ideals on the evils of slavery,
yet continues to hold his own slaves. Is he a hero because of his
beliefs or a villain because of his actions? And just how important
is this question to understanding and responding to the novel, as a
whole?
If St. Clare were a minor character, showing up in just a
chapter or two, as another stereotype, i.e. the southern slaveholder
who doesn't like slavery, he could almost be dismissed as just another
interesting element, one more point of view, on the issue of slavery.
But St. Clare dominates over one third of this book--his speeches are
Stowe's mouthpiece for her abolitionist politics. He and his moral
ambiguity cannot be dismissed. In many ways, St. Clare is at the
very center of this book. Not just literally and chronologically, but
morally. Josephine Donovan calls St. Clare, "one of the most interesting
characters in the novel" (79). Elizabeth Ammons goes even further
and calls him "the most tortured white man in the book" (175). Here
is a man who knows what is right and wrong, has the power to do
something about it, but does not.
In many ways, St. Clare is like Thomas Jefferson, a man who
spoke out for freedom, who espoused many ideals and even publicly
criticized the institution of slavery, but continued to hold all of his
slaves up until his death. Jefferson...
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... Uncle Tom's Cabin." Criticism 31.4 (Fall 1989): 383-400.
Lang, Amy Schrager. "Slavery and Sentimentalism: The Strange Career of
Augustine St. Clare." Women's Studies 12.1 (1986): 31-54.
Railton, Stephen. "Mothers, Husbands, and Uncle Tom." The Georgia
Review 38.1 (Spring 1984): 129-144.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin: Presenting the
Original Facts and Documents upon which the Story Is Founded.
London: Thomas Bosworth, 215 Regent Street, 1853.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly.
Anthology of American Literature: Volume I: Colonial through
Romantic. Ed. George McMichael. New York: Macmillan Publishing,
1993. 1735-2052.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811. Her father was Lyman Beecher, pastor of the Congregational Church in Harriet’s hometown of Litchfield, Connecticut. Harriet’s brother was Henry Ward Beecher who became pastor of Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church. The religious background of Harriet’s family and of New England taught Harriet several traits typical of a New Englander: theological insight, piety, and a desire to improve humanity (Columbia Electronic Library; “Biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe”).
When someone is a part of or witnesses any one thing enough times, that person will become desensitized to it, whether it is gradually accepting abortion, homosexuality or anything else for that matter. People can even become accustomed to violent murder if it is ingrained into their lives enough. Take the Einsatzgruppen (Nazi Officers that were partly responsible for the death of millions) The Lithuanians showed them how to murder women and children, and they became accustomed to it (Cesarani 165). Shirley Jackson most certainly takes this "desensitization" into account when she writes "The Lottery." The characters in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" are so accustomed to their tradition of systematic, brutal murder, that they no longer feel any remorse for their murderous actions. The villagers carry out the lottery very nonchalantly, belittling human life itself.
Sutherland, Romy. “Commanding Waves: The Films of Peter Weir”. Senses of Cinema website. 2005. Web. 1 May 2014.
If this man wants to eat a cookie before dinner, he will eat the cookie simply because he chooses to. The cookie is irrelevant. He begins to form new values with his choice as the guiding force. No more blindly obeying codes previously laid down in the past, this man has see...
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe is trying to show the people that a blending of Christian values and politics will help change and unite the nation. According to Professor Eric Sundquist, “the novel was revolutionary in demanding that the sacred and secular realms be united, that the role of God be reinserted into an American political system that paid lip service to Christian ideals and constantly invoked them in its discourse but failed to act upon them seriously.” Stowe believes that transformation could occur through the power of Christian love. It would not be enough to just change the laws for the people to change their views that have been instilled in them for generations. The people have to change their views to respect and love one another no matter their race or gender so we could come together to become better nation.
Mental Health & Function. U of Washington, 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 9 May 2014. .
However, when the war was over, and the men returned to their lives, society reverted back to as it had been not before the 1940s, but well before the 1900s. Women were expected to do nothing but please their husband. Women were not meant to have jobs or worry about anything that was occurrin...
Frederick Douglass once said, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” He meant that if people are oppressed, one day they will pass their breaking point and fight back. As a consequence neither side will be safe or secure as violence and terror would corrupt them both. In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the author employs satire, symbolism, and irony to emphasize the social/economic inequality between the wealthy and the poor. The inequality is revealed by Dicken’s satirical description of the lifestyles of Monsignor of Chocolate and the Marquis Evrémonde. In contrast with the people in the wine cask scene; the scene indicates that the people are on their breaking point. Finally, the irony of the trials emphasizes Dicken’s warning to the upper class of England during the 1850s; if they abuse power then vengence will be sought. If action is not taken, England will be engulfed in violence and both the aristocracy and the peasants will suffer.
Walls, Andrew F. 1997. 'Christianity'. In A New Handbook Of Living Religions, 1st ed., 59-92. London: Penguin.
Almost everyone attends a school at one time in their life whether the classroom includes technology or not. Research shows that technology isn’t used as often as one might think. The article, “High Access and Low use of technology in High School Classrooms” illustrates the use of technology by stating that only one in ten of elementary and middle school teachers are daily users of computers (Cuban, Kirkpatrick, Peck). Most schools now have classrooms that use technology throughout the entire class time and even at home to do homework. Although some people might agree with the use of technology in class, it is more harmful to the students than useful. It can cause many distractions, it can be difficult to use and can take away from learning time.
...person who sees it. When an aspect of life is held to something better, the frailties can be seen, and a change for the better may result.
Technology is becoming more and more dominant in our society.Everyday upgrades are being made and new innovations are being discovered. Technology is all around us whether we want it to be or not: it is the vehicles we drive, it can be found in our homes, and can even be found in the grocery store.Every place we look there is some type of technology.I believe technology has had a major impact on our school systems and is still impacting it today.There are those who do not agree, though, that technology has impacted our schools.Eric Gormly writes, “In fact, many theorists point out the overall impact of technology on education has been quite small, manifesting little discernible change in the classroom.” [1]Yes, there are some schools that are not as advanced as others, but many of them do have a significant amount of technology in them.I find it fascinating that so much technology has been incorporated into our classrooms, but I believe that, even with all of the positive aspects that are associated with technology, there are some negative and even dangerous aspects that should be taken into account.I will be sharing some of the equipment that has been used in the schools, how both the students and the teachers use the equipment, and also the positive and negative effects that technology has had on our schools.
When I become a teacher there is no doubt that I will use computers in my classroom and my students will do activities with computers. It is just the way to do things now. There are so many valuable programs out there to help students learn and to help teachers teach that computers are pretty much a necessity in classrooms. In my opinion for an elementary classroom there should be at least five to ten computers in each room. Without the access to the computers it is hard to take advantage of all the wonderful things a computer has to offer. Even using the internet has a source of information for the students or has a tutorial for students who are struggling. There are so many ways that classrooms will benefit from computers.
Technology has many different effects on education, one of them being enhancing the students learning. Technology may enhance the students learning and may assist most students in achieving their academic standards. When technology and appropriate teaching methods are combined, technology may increase the academic achievement. Positive effects have been found in all major subject areas, from preschool to higher education, both regular and special needs students. Educational technology has been found to have a positive effect on a student’s attitude toward learning and on self-concepts. The introduction of technology into the learning environment has allowed the learning to be more student-centered, to encourage group learning, and helps to stimulate an increase in the student-teacher interaction. Technology has shown a shift from a focus on a student’s memorization to their problem solving. Through technology’s use, learning opportunities have become unrestricted by time or place, allowing lifelong learning. Student use of technology through communications can also help to enhance access to a career and continued education. Students are more likely to use a computer to get help because they can to it themselves. Technology is helping students to become independent.